Orders received by the German machine tool industry in the third quarter of 2021 were 69% up on the previous year’s figure. Orders from Germany rose by 67%, while foreign orders were 71% higher than in the previous year. Of particular note, orders received by German machine tool manufacturers increased by 61% in the first three quarters of the year.

“The levels of orders on hand are good, although supply bottlenecks and sharp rises in the price of raw materials and components are increasingly holding back business,” says Dr Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association). “Orders are expected to continue rising in the coming months. They are being driven by catch-up effects that will continue for quite some time.”

For further information www.vdw.de

Norton Motorcycles has officially opened its new headquarters at Solihull in the West Midlands. The 73,000 sq ft facility is complete with state-of-the-art equipment and the capacity to manufacture up to 8000 motorcycles per year. With the creation of many highly-skilled jobs, Norton has more than doubled in size and expanded its leadership team with all departments housed under one roof.

Inside the production area, new equipment and tooling improve the manufacturing processes for motorcycles, with every stage designed with quality and consistency in mind. In fabrication, the inspection of frame tubes takes place prior to polishing and in-house welding. Finally, the manual polishing of the frames gives them their complete finish and shine. Even more exciting, Norton now has its own in-house non-destructive and destructive testing laboratory.

For further information www.nortonmotorcycles.com

A well-established manufacturer of heavy-duty lathes and mills based in Gipuzkoa, Spain, BOST Machine Tools Co (BOST) is reducing machine set-up time by 50% and improving rotary axis accuracy with Renishaw’s XR20-W rotary axis calibrator and off-axis rotary software.

With an increasingly demanding market, BOST was facing the need to verify and improve the precision of rotary axes – the primary challenge being the calibration of rotary B axes. B-axis calibration is critical in five-axis machine performance verification to maintain quality, but due to the design of the rotary heads, it was not possible to mount equipment at the centre of these axes to confirm performance. BOST also wanted to improve the performance of C axes, which the company measured previously using a pentaprism system. This method offered no measurement flexibility; a 360° test is limited to capturing 12 positions at 30° intervals.

Renishaw engineers demonstrated the XR20-W rotary axis calibrator on various machines at BOST. The XR20-W offered complete flexibility with test method set-up. It became possible to configure tests with capture intervals and measurement ranges to suit the requirements of the axis in question. Furthermore, Renishaw’s off-axis rotary software allowed BOST to mount the XR20-W away from the centre of axis rotation, providing a simple solution for the calibration of rotary B axes. In fact, this flexibility enabled the company to see improvements in specification for both rotary B and C axes.

BOST decided to purchase the XR20-W rotary axis calibrator as it offered the best five-axis calibration solution for its requirements. When used in conjunction with the company’s existing XL-80 laser interferometer it provides high accuracy of ±1 arc seconds, easy set-up, and fast data capture.

For further information
www.renishaw.com

Additive manufacturing and machining engineers at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) have created a low-cost remanufacturing solution that can extend the life of components by 120%, helping UK manufacturers to embrace the circular economy, boost sustainability and save costs.

The two-year £1.2m DigiTool project was part-funded by Innovate UK and focused on the remanufacture of dies, which are commonly used across the hot forging, stamp and press, moulding, and oil and gas industries to shape metal during production, but are typically subject to high costs and long lead times. The framework incorporates a three-stage remanufacturing process using a hybrid platform that combines additive manufacturing and machining. It can also be retrofitted to a legacy machine tool to save entry costs.

For further information https://is.gd/zojutu

The Nuclear AMRC will work with Rolls-Royce on the next phase of its small modular reactor (SMR) development programme, and help prepare critical components for commercial production in the UK. In unison, the pair will develop the manufacturing capability for a variety of advanced processes, using the state-of-the-art machining, joining and testing facilities of the Nuclear AMRC’s research factory in Rotherham. The centre will also support the design of a new UK factory for large SMR components.

Following this development, the Nuclear AMRC will continue working with Rolls-Royce to create a fully integrated pre-production proving facility for SMR manufacturing. The proving facility will produce large-scale prototypes of the reactor pressure vessel and its closure head.

For further information www.namrc.co.uk